This year, our
teams joined 19 others from 11 law schools at the
University of Oklahoma in Norman. Teams competed
in 3 preliminary rounds, with the top 8 teams
going forward to the semi-final round (the Elite
Eight, for all of you basketball fans). In
order to advance to the national finals, the teams
had to win their Elite Eight trial.

Team 1, composed of Heather Goodwin, Omar Vasquez,
and Sean Kelly had a narrow loss to the University
of Colorado.

Team
2 composed of Robson Hauser, Michelle Moore, and
Josh Barton went undefeated in the competition
(winning all 5 trials). They will compete at
nationals in Austin, Texas on March
26-30.

Both
Team 1 and Team 2 will be practicing over the next
few weeks to prepare for nationals. While only one
team advanced, it is a group effort to
win.

Participants
spend 10-20 hours a week preparing for the
competition. The teams meet at least twice a
week for 3 hours each session. In these meetings,
students run the trial from start to finish with
coaches (Tom Mauet,
Brian Chase, and Joel Feinman ) and team members
providing feedback. In addition to practices, the
students their materials, learn the rules of
evidence, and determine strategies for trial. The
students must also meet with their teams outside
of practice to work on trial strategy and case
theories.

We
are very proud of both teams' performances. They
follow a long tradition of producing great trial
lawyers at Arizona Law.

Please help
me congratulate these students as they prepare to
compete against the top schools in the country.
Teams -- congratulations on your success in
regionals. You make us proud.

Alumni

Brian
Chase '11 and Joel Feinman
'07

It
probably will not surprise you to learn that the
coaches of the Arizona Law trial teams are
themselves trial advocacy stand-outs. The
coaches, Brian Chase
('11) and Joel Feinman ('07)
both achieved recognition of their trial abilities
while students at Arizona Law and have continued
their trial work in practice.

Brian, a
two-time Wildcat (BA'08, JD'11), chose Arizona Law
specifically for its strengths in trial practice.
"For law school, I looked at many options, but
Arizona Law was the best. It offered the best
education for the best price. Plus, I knew I
wanted to be a trial lawyer, and with Professor Mauet at
Arizona Law, I was confident I would receive
superb training and trial experience."

Brian
was right. As a student, he won the 2011 William
T. Birmingham Award for Advanced Trial Advocacy
and the Jenckes Closing Argument Competition in
2010.

These
days, Brian manages his own law firm, the Law
Office of Brian Chase, PLLC,
where he specializes in plaintiff's personal
injury work and criminal defense work. He also
runs his own computer consulting/computer
forensics company, Chase
Technology Consulting, that helps lawyers deal
with everything from digital evidence and computer
forensics to picking the right software for their
offices.

This
year was Brian's first year as official coach of
the Arizona Law Trial Team, though last year he
served as an assistant coach for the team and
organized the regional competition, which Arizona
Law hosted for the first time.

While
it is his first official year as coach, Brian is
no stranger to mock trial. Brian was himself a
student on the Arizona Law team, the University of
Arizona undergraduate mock trial team, and an
undergraduate mock trial coach. Brian has
participated in mock trial in one form or another
for almost a decade.

Outside
of his law practice, computer consulting, and mock
trial work Brian is a volunteer for Therapeutic
Riding of Tucson. He is also
board member for the Pima County Bar Association's
Young Lawyers Division.

Joel
Feinman has every reason to be proud of his mock
trial work. Joel, a member of the Pima County Public
Defender's Felony Team, has coached the Cholla
High School Mock Trial Team since 2007, adding the
Arizona Law trial team to his repertoire in
2011.

Like
Brian, Joel also garnered advocacy awards as a law
student; the William T. Birmingham
Advanced Trial Advocacy Award in 2006 and the
Jenckes Closing Argument Competition in 2005 and
2006.

Joel,
an Arizona native, completed his undergraduate
studies at Northwestern University, returning to
his native state to earn a dual degree (Masters
Degree in Latin American Studies and JD) from the
University of Arizona in 2007.

In
addition to his commitment to mock trial, Joel has
been recognized for his trial work at the Public
Defender's office. In 2011 Joel
received the "Rising Star Award" by the Arizona
Public Defender Association. And, in 2012,
Joel received the ""Rule 11 King" award"
from Judge Deborah Bernini of the Pima County
Superior Court.

In
addition to all he does for the law school, Joel
serves on the Board of Directors for Planned
Parenthood, the Arizona State Bar Mentorship
Committee, and as a mentor for the Pima County
Juvenile Court Mentorship Program. I hear rumors
that in his spare time, he is building himself a
new dining room
table.

This
is an exceptional honor, demonstrating the
extraordinary impact that his leadership has
produced.

As
a Regents' Professor and the James J. Lenoir
Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy, Jim has
been teaching international human rights,
constitutional law, and issues concerning
indigenous peoples at Arizona Law since
1999.

He
has been all over the world, not only as an
advisor but as a lawyer. He represented indigenous
groups from North and Central America in landmark
cases before courts and international
organizations. For example, in Awas Tingni v.
Nicaragua, the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights for the first time upheld indigenous land
rights as a matter of international
law.

Please
join me in celebrating his achievements and the
recognition they have earned worldwide.

Footnotes

Coming
soon!

Alumni
Authors Needed

The
College of Law will host a booth at this year's Festival
of Books. We are looking for alumni
authors to join us. If you are interested,
please contact Nancy
Stanley

Networking
Nosh at Arizona Law

Lewis
Roca Rothgerber Lobby

February
27 4:30-6:00 p.m.

March
27 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Connections
between alumni and students strengthen the Arizona
Law community. To help facilitate those
connections, we are launching a new networking
series. If you are an alum willing to return to
campus to spend time with and advise students,
please sign up by emailing Marissa White.

Last
week, we enjoyed a lecture from Tom Girardi, we hosted
a naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens,
and Assistant Secretary of the Interior and former
Arizona Law Professor, Kevin
Washburn passed through to help teach a gaming
class and say hello to old friends We also hosted
the 13th Annual, Sonoran Desert Public
Interest Career Fair --the largest ever.
67 students took part in 144 interviews with 44
different interviewing agencies. What a
week!